1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a weatherstrip for a motor vehicle and specifically to a weatherstrip either for hardtop-type windows sealing against roof pillars or other surrounding structure or for framed door windows where the seal to the window is mounted in the door frame. This weatherstrip could also be used in trailers, homes or other structures, or devices which contain moving windows where there is a desire for flush appearance at the edges of the windows.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Many motor vehicle openings include a door containing a window opening which is completely surrounded by the door frame. These vehicle openings usually require two separate weatherstrippings to be utilized to prevent water, air, and other materials from entering the vehicle. The first weatherstrip is between the door frame and the vehicle body and another weatherstrip is between the door glass and the door frame.
The door frame windows discussed above are quite different from flush hardtop-type windows and thus their seals are quite different also. Hardtop-type windows as used herein are windows which do not have a door frame completely around the periphery of the window when the window is closed. These windows are designed such that there is no door frame between the upper section of the window and the edge of the roof of the vehicle. Usually one weatherstrip is utilized to accomplish the sealing function.
As aerodynamics and wind noise have become more important in automobile design there has been an interest in decreasing the offset between the automobile window's exterior surface and the surrounding area of either the door frame exterior surface for frame doors or the surrounding body surfaces (roof, pillars, and/or other adjacent windows) for hardtop-type windows. In addition to offsets between windows and surrounding body or door surfaces most vehicles have had some form of a water catching gutter or "drip" either shaped into the body structure pieces or added trim pieces and these are sometimes referred to as "drip" moldings.
Weatherstripping for sealing between the door glass and the edge of the roof of the vehicle is known in the art. However most of them have utilized a shingled geometry where falling water is assisted to fall only on the exterior surface of the window. Even the most nearly flush weatherstripping usually has some portion of the weatherstrip lapping over the edges of the window and therefore it is not perfectly flush. However, no weatherstrip provides a gap-filling bulb which does not lap to touch the outside surface of the window but causes the water to shed only because it touches the edge of the window and fills the gap but does not protrude beyond the outer surface of the window. Furthermore, none of the known weatherstrips include: 1) a gutter forming lip which acts as a gutter to catch water running off the roof when either the door or the window is open or 2) a window positioning portion which includes relatively hard portions for assuring the location of the window in its uppermost position.
Arnheim et al.(U.S. Pat. No. 4,490,942) discloses a weatherstripping which is disposed on a window frame and includes an upper seal for sealing between the window panel and the edge of the roof and a seal which seals the back of the window. However this seal cannot constitute a gutter forming lip because it does not extend past the vertical plane of the edge of the roof when the lip is in the extended position. Also there is no showing of a window positioning portion of the weatherstrip.
Okada et al.(U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,793) discloses a weatherstrip for the door glass of a motor vehicle. This reference clearly shows a seal between the door frame and the door glass and also a seal along the inner surface of the door glass. However this type of weatherstrip application is not concerned with sealing a substantially flush window.
Shimizu (U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,130) discloses another weatherstrip for a vehicle containing a door frame completely around the periphery of the window opening. Shimizu shows a roof slide rail assembly which has a drip channel that is formed therein and continuously extends from the front of the door opening to a rear portion of the rear side window. In this patent, a third weatherstrip is disclosed between the door glass and the door frame. This weatherstrip does not show or suggest a gutter forming lip portion nor a window positioning portion.